Jordan-Gaetz Feud Spills onto House Floor

 

Disarray rocked the House majority yesterday during an otherwise productive session of Congress when one Republican House member sought the expulsion of a colleague.

The ruckus began with a vote on HR 51, a bill to ratify the Ottawa Treaty on land mines. A bipartisan majority on the floor favored amending the bill to include lifting the trade embargo with Cuba. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) joined conservative Republicans like Don Bacon (Nebraska) in describing the Cuban embargo as an arcane and failed policy. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) joined 21 other House members in voting to lift the embargo. (The bill passed and was later signed into law by President Biden.)

Ceremonial Mace

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), however, described lifting the embargo as a grave error, calling it a vital tool for stopping the communist regime in Cuba. After the vote, Jordan appeared to call out Gaetz, saying, "I would just like to remind my fellow Republican Congressman from Florida that their Cuban American voters are not going to be happy if they see that you're betraying them by endorsing the Communist regime which they risked their lives to flee."

Toward the end of the floor session, Rep. Gaetz grabbed the House ceremonial mace from the Sergeant at Arms and spoke out of turn on the floor, demanding a vote on Jordan's expulsion. The Speaker decided to allow the vote.

Ultimately the vote failed when nearly all Democrats voted "present." Only five House members, including two Republicans, voted in favor of the measure. It requires two-thirds of the chamber to expel a member.

In a statement later made available to the Sentinel, Jordan said, "I expect Representative Gaetz will be hard-pressed next election cycle to explain to his constituents not only why he voted for a bill which contravenes decades of Republican doctrine in support of an authoritarian one-party Marxist-Leninist regime, but also why he tried to censure one of the House's most outspoken conservative voices and weaken our Party's narrow majority." Jordan additionally demanded an apology from all Republicans who failed to vote against the measure.

In other floor news, a bipartisan majority voted to override President Biden's veto of an audit of the Federal Reserve. Biden was reportedly stunned and pensive after learning of this. 

House Passes Supreme Court Amendment

A bipartisan coalition today approved an amendment to the U.S. Constitution fixing the size of the Supreme Court at nine justices.

Rep. Bacon

The amendment was pushed in order to counter pressure for President Biden to expand the Supreme Court to protect Democratic legislative accomplishments from judicial review. The amendment's author, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), opened debate on the measure by playing a 1983 recording of then-Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) describing court-packing as a "bonehead idea." Bacon urged his colleagues to support the amendment to "protect the glorious system of checks and balances." 

Some Democrats, including Reps. Cori Bush (Missouri) and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (New York), expressed strong reservations about the measure, saying that rigid approaches to the size of the Court have created egregious injustices in the past. However, other Democrats were open to the amendment with some additions, including a code of ethics for justices as well as 18-year term limits for all future justices.  

The amendment passed with a 21-5 vote, exceeding the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The amendment now heads to state legislatures, where, if it receives approval from 38 states, it will become the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In other legislative action, House Republicans were able to push through several longstanding goals, including:

-A 35% cut in federal funds for reproductive services provided by Planned Parenthood. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) described the measure as a "war on murder," while Rep. Doris Matsui (D-California) accused Republicans of hypocrisy by saying, "You say that life is sacred at conception, you don’t seem to care after they’re born."

Rep. Frost

-A national voter identification card requirement for all federal elections. Speaker Andy Biggs noted that many American believe that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and claimed that greater ballot security would improve voters' perceptions of the process. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida), however, argued that “Voter fraud is not an issue -- this vote is to disenfranchise minority voters.” Rep. Bush claimed that Republicans are blaming imaginary fraudulent voters for their losses when in fact they're just bad at crafting public policy.

-A bill to provide a path to legal U.S. residency for up to 10 million immigrants annually who are willing to pay a fee of 2% of their annual income. 

House passes $4.7 trillion budget for 2023

The U.S. House of Representatives approved $4.7 trillion dollars in spending for the 2023 fiscal year as part of its annual budget, which was crafted by a bipartisan committee. The budget now goes to President Biden's desk for his signature.

Rep. Lesko

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Arizona), a member of the Money Committee that drafted the budget, introduced it on the House floor, describing it as a balanced measure that "takes into account the needs of all Americans." She read a statement of support from Money Committee chair Stephanie Bice (R-Oklahoma), who is currently recovering from Covid symptoms at the Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

Fellow Money Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) added his praise for the budget proposal, arguing that it "demonstrates a bipartisan approach." Committee members noted that the bill actually called for $56 billion dollars more in revenue than spending, creating a surplus that would make a small dent in the national debt.

Several Democrats, however, expressed concern for the very small appropriation for Pell Grants in higher education, originally listed as $50,000 for 2023. This, experts estimate, would almost be enough to send one student to the University of Denver next year.

After some discussion, the line item was increased to $500 million by Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota). Several House progressives, led by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, pushed for a further expansion of this funding, but this effort did not garner majority support. The budget was ultimately passed on a voice vote.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

In other House developments, Republicans quashed a bill by Ocasio-Cortez to raise the federal minimum wage to $14.50. In comments later made available to the Sentinel, Ocasio-Cortez listed the economic benefits to families and communities of an increased minimum wage, and implored her colleagues to "put party politics aside and do what you were elected to do by representing the best interests of your constituents." The federal minimum wage remains at $7.50, although various cities and states have floors well above that.

In another development, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) led Republicans to support one of the largest expansions of the welfare state since the Great Society, details page A14.